A Proteolytic Unit for Chymosin (Rennin) Activity Based on a Reference Synthetic Peptide

Abstract

The hexapeptide I-ILeu-Ser-Phe (NO2)-Nle-Ala-Leu-Ome is proposed as a reference for proteolytic activity determinations of chymosin (rennin). This peptide which is readily hydrolyzed by the enzyme contains a spectroscopic probe Phe (NO~) which facilitates routine determination of enzyme activity. Specific proteolytic activity has been measured for various purified and commercial enzyme preparations and compared to their clotting activity.